Another World
by Moony vs. Padfoot
Summary: Remus is given a new assignment for the Order. One that has never been attempted ever before. He must go behind the veil, and retrieve Sirius Black into the Living or the war may as well be lost. Sequel to Into the Spirit World. NO SLASH.
1. An Assignment

Another World

By Moony

Don't own anything that you recognize.

Chapter 1

Remus was not ready to do this. Not at all. It was one thing losing the last Marauder he had had, but it was another to go and get him back from behind a mysterious veil. No one knew what that veil was, or where it lead to. For all he knew, there could be monsters to kill him behind that thing.

But yet, Dumbledore seemed to think it was nothing.

Remus had been admiring the autumn leaves. So beautiful. He and the other Marauders used to jump into them so often. It nearly brought tears to his eyes. And then Dumbledore came over. With a new assignment.

How tired Remus was of assignments. He wished for the peaceful life. When all was happy, and he had great friends and wonderful times and excellent teachers. When all you had to worry about was some kind of prank James and Sirius had let slip out that was going to happen to him.

But regardless of his tiredness of assignments, he knew there would be no peaceful life without assignments, and the best way to get the peaceful life was to fulfill the Order's needs. To help Harry vanquish Voldemort.

So he curiously asked what it was.

And what he heard nearly made him laugh. It was so ridiculous!

"Remus, I know that the loss of Sirius has affected everyone…" he started.

Remus looked at him sharply. It was cruel of him to remind him. That gaping hole in his heart where all the Marauders had once been…

"But, I have found from… my sources, that Sirius was not supposed to die. He is going to play a key role in the war."

So what was the assignment?

"Remus, we must get Sirius back from the Afterworld, the Spirit World, the Heaven."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "How exactly are we to do that?"

Remus thought it was impossible. And no, it _was_ impossible. You couldn't just bring back a spirit from the Heaven, or Spirit World, or whatever. Dead never came back alive. If you _could_, then all the dead people would be overpopulating the earth. He had never doubted Dumbledore, but he thought this was crazy. Dead never came back alive. They were… dead.

"That is where you come in. We need you, to go back behind the veil, and bring Sirius back into the Living."

Sorry it's so short. But it's just the beginning, the introduction. More later! –Moony


	2. Discussions

Another World

By Moony

JKR owns everything. Blah blah blah.

Chapter 2

That was when Remus nearly laughed. It was a really funny joke. Oh jeez. He knew they all wished Sirius would just get out from behind that stupid veil, but that was ridiculous. And how was he supposed to do this without special powers? If it was so easy as that, then everyone would be going behind that veil every day to get back their loved ones. Killing and suicide threats wouldn't scare anyone anymore.

"I… how is that possible?" he asked.

"That is what we will come to discuss today. I do think you forgot about the meeting yesterday? For that is what we had come to the conclusion of, where Sirius must be brought back."

Remus looked at the floor. He hadn't forgotten. He had not wanted to go. He was tired of all these stupid deaths from these assignments. All his friends, all the people he loved were leaving him. Because of Voldemort.

"But we decided you would be the best candidate, though it is _very_ dangerous."

Oh, so pick the one that wasn't there. Noboyd wanted to he betted, because of all the danger, so they picked Remus, who so conveniently wasn't there and couldn't protest.

But then again, if this was possible, and if there really was a Spirit World instead of just a place where spirits floated around – then would it be possible… would it be possible to see James and Lily again? His heart fluttered excitedly at the thought.

"I do not know whether you will see the dead that you yearn for," Dumbledore said, as though reading his mind. "But I do know it is possible, though highly risky and very complicated."

"I'll do it," Remus said confidently.

And just as the words flew out of his mouth, his stomach flipped uncomfortably. No, he didn't want to do it. No way. What would happen when he went there? Would he become a spirit too? And then go back into the Living… would something weird happen to his body? Going from living to dead couldn't be too good for health, could it?

Dumbledore smiled, "I knew you would."

"We have a meeting now, to discuss how exactly to bring Sirius back into the Living, so come along now," Dumbledore said, walking back into the lone mansion.

They settled in the meeting room, where everyone else already was. Snape, McGonagall, Tonks… He smiled weakly at them, as if trying to apologize for what he had done yesterday. Though he was sure that they didn't know why he hadn't come.

"All right, last meeting we have discussed the importance of Sirius Black, and the mistake made with his death. He was not to have died yet, according to Miss Sibyll Trelawny at Hogwarts…"

Remus could have sworn he had heard a snort from McGonagall.

"And I assure you, this was a _real_ prediction," Dumbledore said, looking at McGonagall, his eye twinkling merrily.

"Now, we have all voted, and agreed upon, that Remus Lupin would be the one to perform this difficult task."

Everyone nodded.

Tonks spoke up. "Did you actually agree to this himself?" she asked.

"I have heard him say it with my own ears," Dumbledore said.

Tonks glanced at Remus skeptically. And Remus nodded, reassuring her that he had indeed agreed.

"The question at here remains, how will this be attempted?"

Murmurs were passed around the table. They were all raising their eyebrows.

"It seems, I have found a way to attempt this," Dumbledore said.

The mumbling ceased immediately, as every head in the room looked up in disbelief.

"Er… are you sure this is… safe?" Molly Weasley asked slowly.

"I do not know, as no human, wizard or muggle, as ever undertaken such a task. However, I do have some contact with two angels."

More eyebrows found their way out. Remus's stomach was turning even more uncomfortably by the minute.

"Angels' jobs, of course, are to take dead spirits into the Spirit World… or hell. If we can convince the angels to do this special task, of bringing Remus, Remus will be able to set foot into the Spirit World."

"But that's taboo! Angels can't just bring live people into the Spirit World to bring back a spirit!" Molly said.

"I believe, that under these special circumstances, the angels can come to a compromise with us."

"But that doesn't explain how Remus is going to bring Sirius _back_," Arthur Weasley said.

That was another question which made Remus squirm uncomfortably. What if he got stuck there? What would happen then? Would he just… be like a dead spirit? Or would he be a regular spirit who died? Though it seemed nice to see all his dead friends again, and have no more pain, Remus wasn't quite ready to die just yet. He still had things he wanted to do alive.

"This is where the angels come in again. They will them both back into the living."

Though Dumbledore made it sound simple, Remus was sure it wouldn't be as easy as that. First they'd have to _find_ Sirius. Then they'd have to compromise with the angels. THEN they'd have to find the entrance back into the Living. And an entrance into the Living couldn't be just anywhere, or everyone would be coming back to life. In fact, this assignment could take ten years.

"So, shall we vote again for this idea?" Dumbledore asked. "Who agrees with the angels?"

Most of the Order raised their hands, including Remus, though he didn't like the idea at all.

"And anyone with a different plan?"

The ones who had not raised their hands did so, but of course, they were outnumbered.

"Fair. Tomorrow, we shall bring some members to the Death Realm, to speak with the angels for an agreement. These shall include?"

Remus raised his hand again, though it was not needed, because he would have to go anyway. Only three or so people raised their hands, Tonks, Arthur, and Moody.

"Settled then."

"Shouldn't we have some kind of plan? We can't just waltz in and ask to bring someone back from the Spirit World," McGonagall said.

"All too true. Have faith in me, I have worked out a plan."

_Then why do you need to bring Order members?_ Remus thought.

"However, I will bring Order members as backup," Dumbledore said, tilting his head toward Remus, who smiled sheepishly.

"All right. Meeting closed. Dismissed!" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

The room was filled with the scraping of chairs against the floor and soon everything was cleared so not one child could find even the smallest bit of evidence. And everyone filed out.

Remus's stomach lurched. They were all right, they didn't have to worry about all the dangers and taboos associated, because they had just decided to stick Remus in the spotlight because he wasn't there.

And despite how sure Dumbledore sounded, Remus had terrible premonitions about it.

* * *

I have come to the resolution of this: I will update a chapter of this every day. -Moony

SHOUTOUTS:

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: Yay! I like my idea too!

The Egyptian Sand Qiull: YAY! Again! I think it's interesting myself. Dunno where the idea came up.

Jinxeh: There's other stories like this? Wow. I'll go ahead and see your story later. Well, most of the questions you have is explained in the fic. And NO there is no slash. I hate slash in stories, and I would jut kill myself if I tried to write it.

Kirsty2: THANKS!

Keep the reviews coming guys! I love feedback!


	3. Angel Talk

Another World

By Moony

JKR owns everything…

Chapter 3

After a breakfast, Tonks, Moody, Dumbledore, and Remus set out for the Death Realm. Remus had only heard of it slightly before. Something his mother talked about as, creepy and mysterious. Nobody really liked to go there. The Death Realm was where the angels took the Spirits into hell, or the Spirit World. And it was really creepy. You watched as a wispy white spirit would float from the dead body of someone you once knew. And then you knew you would only see that spirit again, when you died. It was all very morbid and melancholy, and not too many people brought bodies to the Death Realm. Most just buried them, and later the angels would come to take their spirits. The only people who usually took bodies the Death Realm were poor people and Seers. Seers for some reason, believed that the Death Realm was the only place your spirit could be taken away.

Remus wasn't afraid. He wes sort of… well… he didn't know how to describe it. He really didn't want to be out on an assignment again. For a long time, he hadn't had to do one, and it had been nice. He could be alone, he could dwell on memories. He didn't have to be on his guard every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Well, now he was back on the duty. That was the sort of feeling.

The chilly autumn air nipped Remus's nose. Remus had always loved autumn. Autumn meant Hogwarts was starting soon. Autumn meant beautiful leaves. Autumn meant happiness to him.

And as he was strolling down memory lane, they stopped in front of a morbid looking building. Didn't angels make things beautiful? This place looked like the entrance to hell rather than the Death Realm.

Tonks seemed to be thinking among the same lines as him, her eyebrows were raised so high they looked as if they would split. Her hair was turning pink.

Their eyes caught each other, and they exchanged glances for a moment, before heading into the building.

An old looking wizard was standing behind a desk.

"Name?" he asked, in a bored, monotonous tone.

"Albus Dumbledore."

The man scrutinized him for a moment, "Dead wizard's name?"

That was really nice, Remus thought. Why not deceased wizard's name? It sounded much more nice. He could see why not too many people brought their relatives to the Death Realm.

"We do not bring a dead body. I have an appointment with the angels… Norlock and Adanis," Dumbledore said.

The man raised his eyebrows, and put the book he had been searching in away. He withdrew another, very old dusty book, and opened it. The spine cracked, as the man's fingers went down the page.

"Ah! Dumbledore. Go right ahead into room 12. They are waiting for you."

The four of them walked in. It _was_ indeed a very morbid building. Each room had windows that were gray and dark, and Remus thought he had seen a storage room of coffins with dead bodies. Ech. What kind of perseon would like a funeral like this? What if the angels did something wrong? Did that mean there were spirits floating around here?

Remus put the questions out of his mind as they came to room twelve. Dumbledore pushed open the door gently as they went in. Tonks was shivering. It was quite cold after all.

There were two wizards standing around. They were ugly, Remus had to admit. Dressed in ragged, patched black robes and their faces were lopsided it seemed. They seemed different from most wizards. Indeed, their cheeks were rosier, and they did not seem to age, even though you could tell they must be old by the way they spoke. There was some sort of glow around them, some sort of radiance and heat they were giving off. But why were they different like that? And where were the _angels_?

"Norlock, Adanis?" Dumbledore asked, extending his hand. So they were angels!

But weren't angels like ghosts. Ghosts couldn't touch anything, yet, these two angels shook Dumbledore's hand. Remus had always imagined angels to be beautiful women and handsome men, dressed in spotless, pure white robes and clean and having golden halos about their heads. Apparently not.

"Dumbledore! It has been a while since you have come to visit the Death Realm! Sit down! Sit down!" one man said, gesturing toward some chairs. They all took seats.

"Now, I do have a most serious matter to discuss with you," Dumbledore said again.

How funny. They_ were_ discussing Sirius.

That stupid pun that had been around for years. Sirius loved it. And everyone always made jokes about it. But this time, no one laughed. Remus and Tonks caught glances again. Remus thought Tonks looked furious about Dumbledore bringing up that pun again.

"It seems, the passing away of Sirius should not have happened, and it was a terrible, terrible accident that might affect the war we are in today."

The two men nodded solemnly.

"And we must bring Sirius back, or this world might be doomed to a terrible fate."

What terrible fate? Why was it so important? And why wouldn't Dumbledore tell anyone?

"However, we find, the only way to do this, would be to enter the Spirit World, and bring an angel along with someone to retrieve the spirit, and bring the two spirits back."

This time, one of them was shaking his hand vigorously. "Oh no, it is taboo. It is against the laws of the angels to bring back a dead spirit. Besides, we need a living person to do that, and I'm sure no living being would like to venture into such a place, being how high the risks are."

"Norlock, you must look at the circumstances. If Sirius Black is not brought back, the world may be doomed. Even perhaps, it might affect the Spirit World."

"You still have not a living being to do this, even if we agree."

"But alas, I do. This man here, named Remus Lupin, has agreed so to do it."

Remus saw Norlock's eyebrows raise at him.

"You know of the risks involved?" he asked Remus.

"I do sir," Remus said.

"And you are still willing?"

"Yes sir."

"Dumbledore sir, this is out of our hands. This is one of the highest, most important laws of the angels, and we cannot do as we like to break it, even under special circumstances. However, we advise you to bring the matter to the Angel Council, and the head of the Council. They are the ones who make the laws, and they are the ones who allow special rules to be broken by Livings," the other man, Adanis, replied.

"Thank you for your time," Dumbledore said, nodding curtly.

"We are sorry we could not be more helpful," Norlock said.

"No, no. You have been very helpful. I thank you."

"Good-bye, friend," Adanis said.

Great, more angels, Remus thought. That had been a waste of time. But Remus was quite glad to leave the building. So where was the council located? The Death Realm 2? Hopefully it would be better than the Death Realm.

* * *

Sorry they're so short. I'll try making them longer. -Moony

SHOUT-OUTS:

Dragon: Er…. Uh-oh. Eek. I'll try!

Donatella: Jenna/Peter, don't call me Claire on the internet. My name on the internet is Moony. Totally different person. And yes, I am very evil. Thank you very much. Oh, and no. Because I didn't even write that story, so I couldn't make it clash. Padfoot wrote that story. Duh. This story is the sequel to Into the Spirit World. I want Sirius back too. I think we all do.

The Egyptian Sand Quill: Yay! Well, I can't tell you whether they bring Sirius back, because that is the whole plot!

CILVERBLOOD: Excitement galore! Yes – I actually do have a plot – for once!

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: YAY! I don't like slash, sorry.

Sirius-Black-Sfan: Ahh! Pressure!

Buffalo1fromsalem: COULD be interesting? It WILL be interesting!


	4. Plans

Another World

By Moony

JKR owns every HP character that you recognize.

Chapter 4

Norlock walked the foursome out the door. Moody glared at him with his eye, as though he was going to rip their spirit out and send it flying into hell.

"The Council's headquarters are located at the far side of all the White Hills, beyond the Cassaac Forest. There, you shall come upon a small white cottage. There will be a symbol of a golden circle. A golden circle, nothing more. That is the headquarters," he said.

"Thank you Norlock. Thank you," Dumbledore said, shaking Norlock's hand.

"It's all I could do to help. I'm sorry we couldn't do something about your dilemma."

"No, no, it's quite all right, I understand. Thank you for your time."

"Good-bye my friend! Come back soon!" Norlock called.

Dumbledore nodded. As they turned to exit the building, Remus saw the receptionist frown a bit. His eyes narrowed, and he said softly to him, "Ye'll wanna watch out for them Angel Council peoples."

Remus nodded and hurried to catch up. What was that supposed to mean? Were the angels really evil? Would they prevent them from the mission just so the world would fall into pieces?

_Ok. Enough questions. Just stop worrying!_ Remus told himself.

After a while of walking, Tonks suddenly said, "Why didn't we just apparate?"

"You can't apparate and disapparte from anywhere where angels are. Especially the Deaht Realm, and the Council place," Moody growled.

"How come?"

"Just can't. Some special rule they have."

They soon came to the edge of a thick wad of green_ – _the Cassaac Forest. It was a very dense forest. Everywhere Remus turned, there were leaves in his face. It seemed that no sunlight penetrated through the thick leaves. The trunks sthemselves were something too. Huge, burly stumps of the hardest wood that Remus had ever seen in his life. There was something about this forest that made him uneasy. It was so unnatural. These couldn't be regular trees. In fact, they almost seemed like the Whomping Willow!

"You're twitching," Tonks whispered next to him.

"I know," Remus said.

He twitched involuntarily when he was nervous.

"What are you nervous about? It's just a forest," she whispered again.

"Well, I'd like to ask you that," Remus said.

"What do you mean?"

"You're _whispering_."

"You're twitching."

Remus rolled his eyes. They were both nervous. There wasn't any point in arguing. Remus had learned this a long time ago. He had never been one to argue. When you thought about it, it was really pointless. Remus _knew_ what he had said was right, and if he knew it, and he could feel the pride of it, then what point was there trying to convince someone else he was right? It would be a waste of energy and time. Like if you were arguing with someone over a tennis game you were playing, and you won, but your opponent insisted you lost, and you knew you didn't – what was the point of arguing? Who _cared_ if he was a sore loser? Why waste time arguing with him?

The green leaves were slowly lessening as they move deeper through the forest. But Remus still had a restive feeling about this.

"Ok Remus, you're right," Tonks said, giving in, after a good few minutes.

"Right about what?"

"I _am_ nervous."

Remus smiled.

"But that doesn't mean you're _not_ nervous. I know you're nervous too."

Remus nodded.

"I have a weird feeling about this place, it makes me jumpy."

"Me too. I don't like it at all."

At last the whole forest cleared, and the white cottage came into view. The golden circle imprinted on the wall glowed brightly, and it seemed that Remus's feeling had been wrong. But somehow, Remus didn't think so. His gut feelings had only ever failed him twice.

And as they were about to set onto the door, Remus saw Moody cast his eye around. He was nervous too.

In fact, the only person who was not uptight about this whole thing was Dumbledore, who was still smiling, and popping some sort of yellowish candy in his mouth. It looked uncannily like a lemon drop.

But what were they all nervous about? There seemed nothing that could possibly hurt them. Perhaps it was just the fact that they were going to meet people who took spirits from bodies. Or maybe because everyone thought angels were regal, beautiful spirits, and were tongue-tied around them.

So they headed into the cottage. It was a _very_ small cottage. The only things in it were a few sofas and desks with lamps, and very long and high table at the far end. Behind it, sat six wizards and witches – or were they angels?

They did seem to look like angels. They had the same sort of radiating glow about them as Norlock and Adanis, and their faces seemed so young and so rosy. But they were wearing regular robes, black, purple, violet… Well, Remus was certianly learning something about angels today.

"Name please?" the angel in the middle asked.

"Albus Dumbledore. My friends, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, and Nymphadora Tonks," he said.

Remus chuckled a bit as Tonks cringed.

"Do you have an appointment?" another angel asked.

"No ma'am, but we have a most urgent matter."

"More urgent than the fact that the Ministry of Magic may be corrupted? For that is what we have an appointment for in a few minutes," another angel said.

"Yes indeed. Much more urgent than that."

The angels whispered to one another.

"All right. Come, let us go into the meeting room."

They watched as the angels tapped their wands against a blank wall, and a small door appeared.

"Go on," one angel said, beckoning toward the entrance.

Remus, Tonks, Moody, and Dumbledore walked in, the angels behind them. Inside was a much more large room, and cozy as well. There was a shiny mahogany table, with comfy armchairs all around. A fire was crackling and dancing in the fire place, and the rug was soft beneath their feet. Portraits of beautiful women and daring knights were hung everywhere. When Remus sat down, he saw there were gingerbread cookies and tea on the table too.

"Help yourself, help yourself," one angel said waving her arm towards the cookies and tea. "My name is Irene." She pointed at another woman. "That's Georgia." And then at a another woman. "She's Aura." Then she pointed at the men. "That's Talo, Anson, and Ernan."

"Now, what is the matter that you have come to discuss?" Irene asked. Clearly, she was the head of the Council.

"You all have heard of the death of Mr. Sirius Black?"

"Unfortunate. Very unfortunate. He was a very good friend of mine, and it was so awful to see that handsome spirit being taken out of his body," Talo said solemnly and nodded.

"Well, it seems, we have information from a seer, that Mr. Black was not supposed to die. And, that without Mr. Black, this world will be doomed to a terrible fate. This Seer explained to me, in her prophecy, that Mr. Black would take a great part in the future of this world. She then went on, to say, that Mr. Black must be retrieved from the veil," Dumbledore went on.

Remus wished Dumbledore would stop saying Mr. Black. It sounded like someone else. Someone they had never known, and they were being polite. Sirius was more… famliar. More warm. It was more of the sound of his _friend_. Not someone who he never really knew.

"And how do you expect to accomplish this?" Aura said.

"This is where I would like to consult with angels. You see, we find, that the best way to do this is to have an angel retrieve a spirit."

Anson stared for a while, and then spoke.

"Albus, though it seems so easy as that, it is clearly not. It requires the strength of a living to go beyond to retrieve it. Angels alone cannot bring spirits back, only the most powerful angels can…" he had a wistful look in his eyes. "Only one has been able to do this… his name was Chan. But his spirit was destroyed by unknown forces. We have no other angels able to complete the task. It will require much strength from a Living."

"We believe we have a candidate for the task, though he will need the assistance of the angels," Dumbledore seaid.

"Who?" Anson asked.

Dumbledore gestured toward Remus.

"May I introduce, Remus Lupin."

Remus could feel the doubt in the room. Of course, he probably didn't seem a likely candidate. Anti-Werewolf laws made it practically impossible for him to get a job, so his robes wouldn't likely be in a great condition. He was getting old and tired too, so he probably didn't seem to hold any of the 'strength' that was required, or so Anson had said. But they said nothing.

"But you have forgotten, that this is taboo," Georgia said.

"Quite right she is," Ernan said, nodding.

"I'm sure, that under these great circumstances, that we can make an exception."

"I think so too, the question is not the taboo, the question is if this candidate is ready for the task. There are a number of dangers involved."

Dumbledore turned to him, his eyes twinkling.

"Well – are you ready Remus?" he asked.

How could Remus say no?

"Of course," he said, trying to smile a bit.

"Then you see, he feels ready."

"All right. When shall we begin?" Irene asked.

"Two weeks. In two weeks' time," Dumbledore said.

Remus's stomach flipped again. Two weeks? So soon? He had thought it would be a long while from now! Well, he would do everything he had wanted to do before he died, he guessed. There were many risks, that angel had said, and he had never been a lucky duck with taking risks. So he might as well treat it like death.

"Very well. Very well. Please meet at the Department of Mysteries."

The Department of Mysteries? Did that mean the entrance was that cursed veil?

* * *

SHOUTOUTS: 

Donatella: Yeah, I made up Norlock and Anadis. I was locking at the map. I was thinking of warlock, then I looked at Norway, and typed down, Norlock. Then I was thinking of Canada, and I took of the C at the beginning, and the A the end and replaced it.

Lily-James14: I hope I do it right. Lol. Yes, I never really liked the fact that angels were so pure. I thought they could be normal a bit.

ShOrTnSwEet9013: Thanks for the compliments.

Sirius-Black-SFan: Lol. It's ok, I was just joking anyway :)

IamSiriusgrl: Yay! Thanks for compliments, and yes, I don't like cliche. So angels look NORMAL!


	5. Into the Veil

Another World

By Moony

JKR owns everything you recognize.

Author Notes: Ahhh. Sorry for some lack of update for like three days. I was busy a bit. But I hope to be updating more regularly now. –Moony

Chapter 5

334.6 hours seemed to pass by in a blur. Remus laughed as he thought this. A normal person would think 334. But no, he had to think 334.6, because he always insisted a day was 23.9 hours instead of 24. Then again, no normal person would try to calculate how many hours there were in two weeks. But the day was finally here. The day he might die. How morbid that thought was; waking up and knowing you might die. But Remus had never been much of an optimist. Well, if he died, he hoped the Spirit World had no full moons. And he hoped he would get sent to Hell. But he probably couldn't. Seeing as angels took you to hell or Spirit World, and he would already be in the Spirit World.

Yawning slightly, he stepped out of bed. As he walked out the door, Tonks was standing there. She smiled nervously, but it seemed that her eyes were getting extra shiny for some reason. Remus knew she was about to cry.

"Aww, come on, what's wrong?" Remus asked.

"It's just that… something might screw up today."

"I'm aware of that."

"And… you might… you might be gone forever."

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"It's not funny!"

"Sorry."

"Remus, Sirius gave me something… his Two-Way Mirror. He said to keep it, and give it back to him when he got back from the Department of Mysteries. Only he never did, did he? And I want to give it back to him. And… you might get to see him. And I'm not sure if things from the Living go to the Spirit World, but try won't you?"

Remus nodded, taking the parcel from her.

"I'll make sure I do it…" he said. Then frowned a bit. "If I don't die."

"Stop it!"

"I'm sorry. I'm just a pessimist."

"And when you do, please, can I trust you not to read the letter I've written to him? It's just for him, ok?"

"Sure," he said casually.

Remus really wanted to just run in the bathroom and throw up. It didn't seem possible that in a few hours, he might be dead, or searching around another world he didn't know for Sirius.

Without a word, Tonks ran out of sight.

Frowning slightly, he headed for the bathroom. The parcel was large and the brown paper rustled softly. He always knew about that Two-Way Mirror. He used to hate it, he disapproved of it, he always tried to get James and Sirius to stop using. But now it was sort of a memory… a little reminder of the old days, the light that used to burn softly inside him. The light that brought him to happiness. The light of the Marauders. There were other reminders too. Photos, the cloak, and James' old wand… but they were all stowed away somewhere, so that Remus wouldn't ever have to look at them.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't changed much.

Remus was quite a handsome man, though he was getting old, he hadn't lost much of his looks. He had always been a cute boy, and a handsome young man. And now, looking at him, he could still see the little eleven-year-old in him, he could still see himself like that. But that eleven-year-old seemed to be another person, who lived in a different world.

He sighed, bent down, and began to brush his teeth and splash some water on his face.

He made up his mind to take a walk around this whole mansion. He might never see it again. But what he didn't want was to say good-bye. He wasn't really good at the whole 'good-bye' thingy.

So it was what he did for the morning, and then he ate breakfast. He chuckled to himself, as he kept saying – "This might be the last time I get to do this". It was really morbid. What was to say that in the Spirit World, you couldn't eat or something?

_I doubt it._ Remus thought. For, if ghosts couldn't eat, how could spirits? Spirits didn't even _need_ to eat. They were already dead. Like ghosts. Suppose he got stuck there, he might never taste anything again. Oh this assignment was really stupid. It had him thinking like someone who had cancer or something. But nevertheless, he resolved to eat a whole box of ice cream. So he'd never forget about it. And Butterbeer. So – Remus John Lupin ate more food than he had ever had in his life.

Harry walked in at this moment, and his eyes flickered from the six bottles of Butterbeer, to bacon that had been sizzling in a pan, and pancakes that had been bubbling, to an empty box of ice cream.

Remus gave him a sheepish smile. But as he did, something in his gut squirmed. It was like staring at James all over again.

"_What _did you do?" he said, stifling giggles.

Remus smiled slightly. Harry hadn't know his assignment, and he wasn't going to tell him. It might hurt him, maybe he wasn't ready for that. But it was cruel, because Harry had been grieving as much as he had, and Remus knew Harry would give anything to see him.

"I dunno. Full moon's coming soon. Thought I might enjoy myself," he said, smiling. "A treat for myself dealing with my painful transformations."

Harry smiled.

"Can I join you?" she asked.

"Certainly."

He sat down and helped himself to some more ice cream.

"I've wondering… Professor Lupin, do you miss Sirius these days?"

The Butterbeer in his hand fell to the floor, and Butterbeer spat out from his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just thought…" Harry said.

"No it's ok. Of course I miss Sirius. He was one of the best friends I ever had."

Remus looked at the sad look in Harry's extraordinarily green eyes.

"I miss him. A lot. It seems like… like everyone who's like a parent to me is leaving. I mean, he was my dad's best friend, and my godfather…"

Remus looked at him. He wished Harry saw _him_ like James' best friend.

"But you know, you're still here. And Mrs. Weasley. I want to show you something…" he said suddenly.

Remus looked at his watch. It was early, he still had time.

"All right."

He thought Harry would take him somewhere, but instead, Harry withdrew something from his pocket. Well, some _things_ actually. They appeared to be shards of broken glass, jagged and shiny. Remus took one and examined it. It appeared to be broken shards of a mirror. But why would Harry want to show him mirror shards? Unless…

"Harry… what exactly was this?" he asked.

"A… a Two-Way Mirror," he stammered.

What? Harry had posession of James' mirror? But – he had thought Sirius had it!

"And how'd you get this?"

"Sirius gave it to me. Before I left for school after Christmas," Harry said, looking at his feet.

Remus was slowly realizing something, but he didn't think Harry would want to hear. If Harry had had this, why had he used the fire to contact Sirius? Why didn't he use the mirror? Then couldn't all this have been avoided?

He opened his mouth to say something, but then he saw the horrible look of wrenching guilt on Harry's face. Was this the reason he hadn't spoken for six weeks? Did he think _he_ was responsible for Sirius's death?

"And… it was all my fault that this all happened! If I hadn't been so stupid… if I had just listened and practiced Occlumency… or if I had just _opened_ the stupid parcel he gave me – then Sirius would still be here!"

"Harry, nothing can change fate, things happen for a reason."

But Remus knew Sirius _wasn't_ supposed to die. But he couldn't say it was his fault. The poor kid had enough on his shoulders already.

"You think so? Professor… do you think you can fix this mirror?" Harry asked.

"I believe I can. Give me a few days, ok?" he said, taking all the shards.

"Thanks. I'm… I'm gonna go now."

Remus frowned. He knew it would be a while, until those shards were pieced together into a mirror. Maybe even _never_. Great. Harry might lose another one of his Dad's close friends. Didn't Dumbledore think it was enough on the kid?

He knew he _could_ fix a Two-Way Mirror The matter was, it might not ever get back to Harry. That was the guilty part. But no doubt Sirius would like it back – if he even saw him that was.

As he thought long and hard, he didn't notice Dumbledore silently stride in.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

Remus lookd up.

"Oh sure!" he said, a bit flustered. The bottles and the box were still out.

"Had a large breakfast, I suppose?" Dumbledore said, casting an amused eye over the contents on the table. "I assure you, that the chances of you not making it back to the Living is very unlikely. Without Sirius, but _you_ not, is not very probable."

Remus nodded. Though he quite disagreed.

He hopped up and put the shards of the mirror into the pocket of his robes.

"I'll meet you there," Dumbledore said.

Remus nodded, once more, and closed his eyes. He concentrated on the Ministry and disapparated with a _crack_!

The Ministry's front lobby came into view, and Dumbledore apparated next to him.

The witch at the desk peered at them.

"Visitors?" she asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "We have an important meeting with the angel council in the Department of Mysteries."

Remus wasn't sure whether this witch would buy it. The Ministry of course, had been listening more to the Order now, but that didn't mean there were people in it who thought they were trying to gain power.

The witch rasied her eyebrows, but gave them badges.

"Please let me check in your wands," she said.

"There is no need for that."

"But the Ministry – "

"Then tell the Ministry that Albus Dumbledore said there was no need for it."

The witch smiled weakly, and said, "You may proceed."

So the two of them stepped into the elevator, punched in number 9, and it sped up.

A cool female voice spoke as the doors opened, "Department of Mysteries."

They strode down a dark corridor, and Remus had stabs of memories. This was where Sirius had gone. This was where everything had happened. Dumbledore seemed to know which door it was, though Remus could not remember.

They threw it open, and there it was. The stone dais, the moth-eaten veil still and not moving. Remus looked at it achingly. That was where Sirius had gone. The memories seemed to be swallowing him whole. After that scene, he had never… never expected he'd be back. Nor would he have expected he would be going behind that veil after Sirius.

All six of the council were there, Irene, Georgia, Aura, Talo, Anson, and Ernan.

"Are you absolutely positive you want to do this? You do not have to, if you do not absolutely want to, or if you are too apprehensive," Dumbledore said quietly.

"I'm sure," Remus said, though he didn't think he was. His heart seemed to be speeding and slowing and speeding and slowing, and his knees and arms seemed to be shaking. Cold sweat was breaking from his neck. But he had to do this. For Sirius. For the Order. For the world.

Irene gave Sirius a small little vial of silvery stuff. But it wasn't a normal ear piece, it was golden and seemed to be made of a substance Sirius didn't know of.

"You must put this in your ear, and then we will have contact with you. We will guide you through the world, and help you best to find Sirius. With this substance in your ear, you will be fine, and you will be able to come back into the Living. However, we cannot guarantee it will stay in your ear. Because, we do not know what goes on behind that veil," Irene said.

So there was a huge risk that he might not make it back. Well, he'd come back to haunt the Ministry if he didn't make it back. If he could. Who knew what was behind that veil?

"Are you ready?" Irene asked him.

No. He was not ready. He would never be ready. He wanted to bolt, he wanted to run, he wanted to hide. He wanted time to go back. He wanted everything to be as it was when he was eleven. When the world was just filled with the stupid worries of not having friends, or being a werewolf. Transforming into a werewolf was nothing, compared to this.

But Remus felt cowardly at these thoughts, and his tongue moved to let out a small and defiant… "Yes."

_Sorry I couldn't fix the mirror for you, Harry. Hopefully I'll make it back._ Remus thought.

The substance swirled in his ear, and Irene nodded at him.

The room swirled dangerously around him. It was impossible. How could someone know they would be walking into death. It was appalling. Closing his eyes, Remus let himself fall. And he felt himself falling. Falling through blackness and air. Remus opened his eyes, but he might as well have kept them closed, for there was nothing to see.

Just as he hit the bottom, something slammed into his heart, something like a knife. A cold, biting knife that hurt more than a Cruciatus Curse could ever conjure.

Remus let out a scream heard by no one. The last thing he heard from Irene was,

"Mr. Lupin? Are you all right? Can you hear me? I think we're losing connection. Something's ripping your body away….. I'm sorry sir, be careful. Try to find Mr. Black. Everything might work out if you're on your guard…"

And Remus blacked out.

* * *

SHOUTOUTS:

IamSiriusgrl: YAY! More compliments! Thank you!

Sirius-Black-SFan: Yay again! I'm trying to put cliffhangers. But I'm not very good at them, I'm afraid.

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: Thank you!

Lily-James14: Well, I dunno. I already created that little image, so I don't think I'll change it. But, thanks for constructive criticism. I love constructive criticism some times. And good, I hope I continue to do it right!

Dragon of Apocalypse: Hi Erin! Sorry, that was random. Anyways, thanks, see you on the boards:)


	6. Aisling Poroir

Another World

By Moony

JKR owns every character you recognize from HP. Aisling is mine.

Author Notes: Just a note, that, at this point in the story, you might want go back and read Into the Spirit World, for some parts may confuse you if you haven't read it before. But I guess it still can make do without reading it. Into the Spirit World would give you some background knowledge for this story. –Moony

Chapter 6

Remus came to hours later. Hopefully the angels had been right, and this _was_ the Spirit World. Or, the last thing he heard was that the substance in his ear was gone, and now he was all alone. Shivers crept down his spine. What was he going to do without the guidance of angels? Wander around and just happening to bump into Sirius? Amazingly his robes were still on, though his body had supposedly been ripped from his spirit. Or whatever Irene had said. He felt dizzy and lightheaded. Probably some kind of side effect of dying and waking up. He wondered if he could touch things, or would his hand just go through, like ghosts? He reached into the pocket of his robes, and grabbed his wand. So he could. Well, that was good.

Then a bubbly voice popped up –

"Are you ok? Your spirit was kind of hard to get out? It took a while, so it hurt a bit more than other people's. And I heard you almost scream. And then you conked out for like hours more than normal spirits do. And I was afraid I did something wrong and I would lose my wings. But I guess you're ok. How do you feel? Are you all right? Are you sure? Do you think you need to lie down? Tell me so I don't lose my wings ok? Answer me please!"

It all came out in a blur so that Remus could only pick out a few words. Remus sat up, and turned around to face a girl with wild, messy chestnut hair and freckles was above him, and her big brown eye were shining. Amazingly she was still grinning, though her voice sounded worried. (A/N: Yes my friends! It is the one and only AISLING!)

"I'm fine. Who are you?"

"I'm Aisling Poroir. Goody. You're fine. Ok, now I have to escort you into town. Then I have to leave ok? I have to meet with my good friends James!"

"Are you an angel or something? You were talking about getting my spirit?"

She looked quite young, fourteen or thirteen.

"Yeah, I'm an angel. You were my first spirit I was assigned to. We can be friends! Say – why don't we come and meet James together? He's an angel too!"

"Uh… sure. But wait – first, uh… Aisling, I need to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard of a Sirius Black that came here?"

Aisling half frowned, and her eyebrows furrowed, as she appeared to be thinking.

"I think I've heard that name before, but I can't remember. Might've been the assignment I had for getting my wings, but you know, angel's wing assignments are all erased. Only the head angel knows the assignments, and they're recorded into his head. But Chan's spirit got destroyed, so I'm afraid I can't be much help for that. Don't worry, you usually find your old friends who died in a matter of minutes!"

"Wait – so you had an assignment with Sirius Black?"

"Possibly. I told you, all wing assignments are erased from our minds. Just traces are left behind. Tiny names. Of course, the memories can be triggered by some things, but those clues are usually destroyed. Come to think of it, I don't understand why they are destroyed. I guess it's because some of them are harmful to the spirits so we can't repeat them again. Only harmful assignments and wing assignments are erased."

Remus's heart sank. So angels here would be of no use.

"What about the head angel? Can I see him?"

"I told you too, Chan got destroyed!"

"Oh – so this Chan was the head angel?"

"Yes."

"But if he died, he has records left over, right?"

"He's supposed to, but you see, Chan didn't like to write things down. He always thought there wasn't anything that could destroy _him_. But one of his big assignments went wrong and he died. I was there, but I can't remember what, because it was part of my wing assignment, and they erased that."

"Hold on – spirits can be destroyed?"

"Sure. But it's really hard. The way most people get destroyed is when they take trips back to the Living if they're not angels. Angels are specially protected for that, but not normal spirits. There are special ones though, who are pretty strong and can make it, but very few of them exist here. Of course, not too many spirits go back to the Living, because – number one, there hasn't been any entrance to the living found. Angels can apparate, in a way, to the Living, but normal spirits can't."

Great. So that meant, that they had a chance of being destroyed when they were going back. Then they wouldn't even be spirits or ghosts.

They were strolling into a busy city, when Remus saw people with Muggle clothes on.

"Aisling, do wizards and witches live among Muggles?"

"Oh yeah. It's pretty cool. They know all about magic. It doesn't matter anymore, because we're already dead, you know? Where would good muggles go when they die? We share."

"Ok. So, we have money here. Same as the Living. Galleons, sickles, knuts, and you should know about that. We can eat here. We have apartments here. We have everything the Living has. Got it? Good. Ok. I'm done with that assignment. Now we can actually talk!"

"Uh… right."

"Well, ok, fine, we'll talk when we get to the café."

"Fine," Remus said. He needed time to _think_.

But soon this angel was pushing him into a small café. The smell of coffee drifted out.

"Ok – not to be rude, but can you stop pushing? I mean, you're only like… thirteen or something, and I'm almost into my forties."

"I'm almost fourteen!" Aisling said brightly, "And really? I think James is also almost in his forties! I love hanging out with old people?"

"Hey watch the old comment. Forty's pretty young!"

Aisling rolled her eyes, as she steered him to a table. The person sitting there made Remus stop abruptly.

It was he who spoke first.

"Moony?"

* * *

Ok, sorry this chapter was short, but it's just an introduction to the spirit world. Not that you need one if you read Into the Spirit World, but yeah. If you were too lazy to read that, it's just an intro. More later! Thanks all reviewers. For you I have:

SHOUTOUTS!

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: Yes. It was supposed to be Remus. I write too many Sirius stories, so if I'm not paying attention, sometimes I type Sirius. Sorry about that.

Kyo's Babe: Yes I did, as I told shortnsweet, I write too many Sirius stories. Thanks for all the nice compliments! Oh yes, taboo is just like, it's hard to explain, but it's something that's strictly forbidden, basically. A fancy word for 'we're not allowed to'.

GMUXMenSoaps: I think we all can't wait to see Sirius again! Frankly, for me, I was excited to write about Aisling again. I love writing her. I guess a lot of people like angels to be pure or something, but you know, I don't want to be cliché.

Sirius-Black-SFan: Oh no, I stink at cliffhangers. It's not my thing. I'm trying harder to write them now. Lol. I don't think it's that great. But I'm surprised someone does. Heehee!

Lily-James14: HUZZAH! I'm happy to be making you happy! Yes, losing connection makes this all a bit more fun – for I get to torture Mr. Moony! And – you'll find out about the note. But a while from now… sorry 'bout that. Try to keep sane until you find out, k?

IamSiriusgrl: You know, you are like my official complimenter:)

Dragon of Apocalypse: Can I write Erin instead of your penname now? Well, thanks for all the encouragement:)

Thanks all reviewers! Kudos! I especially love ya'll who review every chapter! I'm very happy about this, and yes, this WILL be much longer than Into the Spirit World, which was a very stinky fic that ended too fast. This one will be better.


	7. Prongs and Council

Another World

JKR owns all characters you recognize. Aisling is mine.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update this! I've been lazy. Lol, trying to manage a new guild on Neopets and stuff.

Chapter 7

All right, so Remus shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, he knew that James was dead, and he knew people who died went to this Spirit World place. But you would still be shocked, when you hadn't seen your good friend for about sixteen years. And right now, his brain was still numb and in shock. When he was living, he had imagined that he would hug James do death when he saw him again, but now that he did - it was so _weird_. Remus didn't know what to do. He was like a stranger now... after sixteen yeras.

James must have been thinking among the same lines.

"Moony?" James repeated.

Remus had no idea what to say, as an awkward silence filled up.

Of course, Aisling hated awkward silences, so…

"Do you know each other?"

"Ye-es…" Remus said slowly.

"Oh. Who are you?" Aisling asked finally.

"I'm Remus Lupin."

"OH! You're _that_ guy!"

"Uh… Remus – what are you doing here of all places, in this world?" James asked, looking worried.

"I'm dead, obviously," Remus said. "For now, at least."

"But I don't think you were registered to die for another forty-five years!" he said, looking more alarmed.

"Is that so? Because I came here deliberately."

"What? You killed yourself? How could you do that?"

"No. Well, you see, there's this veil in the Department of Mysteries…"

"_Sit_!" Aisling said, pushing him down into the seat across from James. She herself went to sit next to him.

"Ok, so, like I said, there's this veil in the Department of Mysteries. Apparently, it's like some passageway to this place. So I had to go through that."

"But why? You had a great life, besides the transformations!"

"Well, you see, the Order gave me this mission. So, Dumbledore said that Sirius had to be retrieved from the dead, or the world was going to suffer some fate that he still won't tell anyone about. So – have you even seen Sirius around here? I mean, you have to meet everyone who's dead every now and then right?"

"Remus… Sirius is alive…" James said, giving him a blank look.

"That isn't possible, James. We saw him go behind the very veil!"

"But angel records have it that he's still alive and kicking."

"So he's not here?"

"And he never was. All spirits are registered that come here."

"But that's impossible. He can't just disappear. We all saw him go!"

"He's alive," James said firmly.

"It is possible he went to hell?"

James shook his head. "Even those spirits are registered. The angels have no record of Sirius."

"Then… what is that veil? Is there another room for that?"

"I don't know… wait – you say the veil leads to death?"

"Yes, I think the Ministry is studying it."

"But that's insane! There's so much danger to that! Thousands of spirits could be here before their registered deaths!"

Remus was suddenly feeling sick. Everything was going hopelessly wrong.

Aisling appeared to be thinking again.

"I'm pretty sure I've heard that name before, but I can't remember where," Aisling said.

"I told you about him. My best friend, that's where," James said.

"Ohhh. Yes!"

Remus's heart sank. So where was Sirius? He wasn't here, hell, or the Living. Were there such things as dead people floating between life and death, neither living nor dead? That wasn't possible… How could he just disappear?

"That's ok, maybe James didn't see him yet. You see everyone eventually, I'm sure he's somewhere," Aisling said. "But now I have to take you to your registered home, let's go," she said, pulling him from the chair.

"Hey!" Remus said, pushing Aisling's hand off his collar.

"Sorry, it's a habit," she said.

"I'll stop by!" James called as Aisling marched him out.

"Sure!"

They walked down long roads with shops of all kinds. There were Muggle shops, and wizard shops, and many of the things you could find in Diagon Alley.

"Aisling, I have a question, how long does it take a spirit to come here?"

"Well, it depends, you want Living Time or Spirit Time?"

"There's different time zones?"

"Sure!"

"Tell me both."

"Well, Living Time would be a year, and Spirit Time only five minutes."

"WHAT? So it's already been a year back in the Living!"

"Yup," Aisling said.

So Harry would be graduating this year… He must be worrying them to death. Poor Harry.

"So how long would it take to get back?"

"Same. Spirit Time, five minutes. Living Time, a year."

"So after ten minutes it'll already be two years?"

"Yup."

"That's insane! How come time goes so fast here?"

"Dunno. Just does. Or maybe time's _slow_ in the Living."

At last they stopped in front of a cozy looking apartment.

"Ok, you're registered for room number thirty-four here, which is on the fifth floor. I'm going to stay with you for about a week, to help you get around this place, and then I'll leave you alone. Everything's all stocked in the apartment, you don't have to pay for anything. Ok? I'll contact you by phone."

"_Phone!_" Remus said incredulously

"Sure! Everyone uses phones here! They're so convenient! Muggles are so brilliant, aren't they? If you don't know how to use it, there's instructions next to it. Ok, you know what, never mind, I'll give you a tour and explain how to use ALL the Muggle appliances!"

"But – "

"They're so much fun! Even if you don't need them! There's wizard and Muggle appliances, and sometimes if you're bored, you can try doing everything the _Muggle_ way! I'll show you!"

"I don't – "

Aisling pulled him into the building and they stepped into the elevator.

"There's so many things! There's refrigerators, televisions, stoves, lamps, and all that stuff! And there's weird machinery, like copying machines, computers, and tape recorders! Plus – "

"Aisling, I don't really think I need to know – "

"- stereos, and all sorts of things that are SO interesting and fun! You couldn't possibly learn all these cool gadgets in Muggle Studies at Hogwarts! Oh, you can send mail thourhg computers! It's called e-mail! It's that so darling?"

"No really – "

"And the television shows funny little pictures, and you can watch it, and it gives all sorts of storylines! And MOVIES! They're LONG television shows! The stereos play music! You put in CD's, and the music you like comes out of it! And oh, _computers_! You can do so much things on those! Games! Did I mention game consoles with controllers to play video games?"

Remus gave up trying to argue, and he listened to Aisling babble on and on as they finally got to their room.

"Thanks Aisling, but I don't really need a tour," he managed to say in between her talking.

"Oh don't be silly! Of course you do! Come on!"

She marched into the room. It was quite a cozy room, soft carpet and squishy looking sofas. They were around a television. Plus there was a table made of mahogany, surrounded by chairs.

"Ok, _that's_ a television! See, I'll show you the moving pictures!" she pushed the power button and out came a picture of a man talking.

"_And_, different channels show you different things! Plus, if you're too lazy to go to the television, you can use the _remote control_!" she said, holding up the remote control.

Remus followed her as she led him into the kitchen, and pointed to an oven.

"That's an oven! They _bake_ things, like cakes and cookies! And that's a refrigerator! Muggles keep things cool so they don't spoil, and that's what they use!"

Then she pushed him along to another table and pointed at the telephone. "That's a telephone. I'll show you how to use it. See look, you pick up the receiver, which is this thing, put it to your ear, and then plug in the number house you want to dial. Then it will call and then the person might pick up and then you can talk!"

She paused for a moment, and Remus heard someone say, "Hello?"

"Hi Auntie! It's Aisling. I was just showing my new assignment person how to use a telephone. Huh? Oh, _now_? But I want to – Oh really! Super! Ok, I'll be there in a few seconds!"

She hung up, and turned to Remus, "Sorry I couldn't show you everything else, Auntie Maria says she invited all the Council over to dinner and I can't be late. But I'll come back soon! What say ten o'clock?"

Remus was about to nod, but he caught the word _Council_. Was is possible the Council existed here too? Could they help him?

"Wait – did you say Council?" he asked.

"Yup, the Spirit World Council. They're like the people who manage everything in the Spirit World, the shops, the new spirits, angels, and all that. Very important people. When you have a problem, you bring it to them. Auntie Maria's on it. And I might be too, someday."

Councils, councils… could they possibly have information about spirits, how to get back and such? Did they have contact with the Angel Council back in the Living? He had to find out, and here was his chance.

"Aisling… is it possible to speak to the Council? Just randomly?"

"Sure. Say – you wanna meet them? I don't think Auntie would mind."

Remus considered this. He was tired, and he wanted to just roll off into bed. But he might not see this Council again, and today was his chance. Besides, he had to use the time he had. It had probably been like fourteen years back in the Living now, since Aisling had told him five minutes here were equivalent to a year there. They must all thought he could not come back.

"All right."

* * *

Bleh. Too much dialogue.

SHOUTOUTS:

Sirius-Black-SFan: Yup, the stories are connected. This is the sequel to that one.

Lily-James14: Oh yes, I love writing about Aisling. She's one of my favorite connections. I couldn't bear to not write about her with a sequel and all! And, since you just read this chapter, I see no point in answering the question about James :)

Kyo's Babe: Yay!

IamSiriusgrl: I LOVE Aisling! It _is_ almost the same, isn't it? Ha, I think Aisling was more annoying with Sirius, but I dunno.

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: runs and hides I updated! Don't kill me! Lol

GMUXMenSoaps: Yes. Spirits can get destroyed when they leave.Hoorah for James!

Erin: Yes! Prongs! Everyone's cheering for Prongs huh?

The Egyptian Sand Quills: Cliffhangers are fun to write. Yay for Aisling!


	8. Council Coldness

Another World

JKR owns all the characters you recognize. As said, Aisling Poroir, Maria Poroir, and all those peoples you DON'T recognize are mine.

Yay for chappie 8! I dunno. –Moony

Chapter 8

Aisling pushed him out the door and into the elevator. For fourteen, she was pretty strong – and dang strong-headed at that.

"I can't wait 'til we apparate. I can stay even later! I only have two more years! Is apparating fun? Is it way more convenient? Do you ever walk to places now with apparition? Do you _even_ walk? Do you remember how to walk? Do you apparate every few feet? What does it _feel_ like? How do you do it? Is there a certain way? Why do we have to wait until sixteen?"

Remus's head spun. It seemed she had said all this in only twenty seconds.

"I don't know about fun, but it is convenient. Yeah, I have to walk to places, because of children who can't apparate. And obviously, I haven't forgotten how to walk, and I do walk, because I've walked with you. I don't apparate every few feet. And I dunno how to explain what it feels like. There is a certain way, but I am in no mood to describe it at the moment. And I don't know why the age is sixteen."

The elevator stopped and Aisling grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the building.

"I don't need to be dragged."

"Sorry."

Aisling let go immediately. The Spirit World was a beautiful place. Everything was clean, every person was friendly, every shop had beautiful items. Here, there seemed to be no worries. All evil wizards went to Hell, and you couldn't really die again, so you could do anything you wanted.

At last, they arrived a cozy looking home and Remus followed her in.

"AUNTIE I BROUGHT MY ASSIGNMENT PERSON!" she yelled.

A petite lady came in, her chestnut hair identical to Aisling's, done into a tight bun. She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry Aisling dragged you here," she said.

"Oh no, I came of my own free will."

"Well, that's good. Sometimes Aisling forgets what other people think."

"Hey!" Aisling whined.

"Well, I'm Remus Lupin."

"Maria Poroir. Is there a special reason you wanted to come?"

"Yes, you are part of the Council?"

Remus heard a snort of 'duh' from Aisling.

"Yes I am."

"Well, you see, I wanted to speak to this Council. I was sent to the Spirit World, to bring back a particular spirit named – "

But there was a knock at the door. Maria gave a jump and hurried to answer the door.

"Why don't you discuss it with the rest of the Council?" she asked. "You can stay for dinner."

Remus nodded as four witches and wizards came in. They were an odd looking group. There were four of them. They all had very solemn looks on their faces, and something about them was sort of creepy. One of them seemed to be sucking on a lemon, and her hair was turning shades of black and then back to gray and black. Another woman's hair looked as if it were on fire. Oddities like this were kind of hard to ignore, but Aisling went up to them as if they were completely normal people, not on some Council who made the laws of the spirit place.

"We won the client war, Roxanne!" she said happily. "_Again_!"

"That's because you force people to go to Maria!" Roxanne said, laughing. Remus noticed she was the only one that had been smiling as they walked in.

"Nuh-uh! They like Auntie _better_!"

The lady, Roxanne, rolled her eyes and went over to Maria Poroir.

"Hello Maria! Good of you to invite us over to discuss matters!"

"No problem, you all needed a place, I had one!"

"Who's that?" a man asked, pointing at Remus.

"Oh, that's Remus Lupin. He wanted to speak to us all about an important mission he was sent here to complete."

"Mission? People don't get killed just to complete a mission, that's taboo. And the law of taboo is the spirit must be destroyed," the man said suspiciously.

"I suppose we'll find out what the mission is, and why it broke the taboo," Maria said.

Remus shivered. The man had looked at him with icy cold eyes. He had a feeling that this man didn't like him here, and he didn't trust him either. Remus hoped that he wasn't going to try to petition for Remus's spirit to be destroyed. Remus watched as the man's wary eyes turned toward Maria.

"I'm dreadfully hungry, can we eat?" he asked, in the same bored voice had had used before.

"Certainly!" Maria said, and led them to the kitchen.

Remus stayed behind to speak with Aisling, who apparently was doing the same.

"Aisling, who was that man who was saying that it was taboo for me to be here for a mission?" he asked.

"Him? That's Darce. After Drake retired, he got voted in. I really don't like him though. He freaks me out. I dunno why Drake retired so suddenly! I don't like Darce at all. He's snappy and distrusting of everyone."

Remus sat down in an empty seat, and looked uncertainly around. It was very odd to eat dinner at friends' homes to him, but even odder when he was eating dinner with people he had only just met. He hadn't ever been the social type, and the Council's solemn faces and hollow eyes only made it feel odder and colder.

He ate his stew in silence, until Maria brought up the subject of his mission again.

"Now then, I do believe we should hear what Mr. Lupin has to say," she said, smiling at him.

Forks clinked, and all the heads turned to look at him.

"All right. I was sent to the Spirit World, to complete a mission. You see, there was a certain wizard, who was killed before his registered death. We then found out, from a Seer's prophecy that this particular wizard had a great effect on the whole war going on in the Living. It was then said, that this wizard must be brought back. So, they sent me here to do it."

The eyebrows rose.

"How could that be possible? Few wizard die before registered deaths," one man said.

"Yes, and another thing is, how could you be 'sent' to do this? They just killed you?"

"There's also the fact that it is taboo to bring dead spirits back."

They were not helping. This was hopeless.

"You see, there is this veil in the Department of Mysteries in the Living. Apparently, this veil is the entrance to death. The wizard I've been sent to retrieve fell through that, and I went through it to retrieve him. You must understand, that if this wizard is not retrieved, the whole world will be doomed."

"Fair, fair. Circumstances can be made. The question is – who is this wizard?"

"Sirius Black."

At this statement, all five heads shot up. Eyes grew wide. An awkward silence fell over the room, as they all stared. Remus's heart began to race. He knew they knew something. How many people went all silent over one name?

"Do you… do you know something?" he asked tentatively.

"We don't!" the man who had been distrusting to him said harsly. "We know nothing of such a man, he never came here and we have no records. Don't bother us with childish jokes and such. We have more important matters."

_What?_ Remus had been so sure! This wasn't possible.

"Yes. We don't, please do not joke around. There is no 'Sirius Black' in the records."

They all nodded in agreement. Remus turned red.

"No, I assure you it's true. We saw him go," he said desperately.

"We do not have any records of this man in Hell or the Spirit World!"

The matter was dropped immediatley. Remus did not dare say anything more. It seemed no one knew what had happened to Sirius. But what was going on? He was certain they knew something, why else had they gone so quiet at the mention of his name? Why weren't there records in Hell or Spirit World? And if he wasn't here, then how come he wasn't in the Living either, as James had suggested? Was it possible his spirit had been destroyed?

It was certainly a possibility. Remus's heart ached as he thought about Sirius being destroyed, gone forever. That couldn't be. No, it couldn't. How could that happen? Sirius couldn't be destroyed! Sirius had to live! Sirius had to save the Living!

The dinner passed by quickly, and as Remus prepared to leave after the people, Maria grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she whispered.

She watched the others go, then beckoned him closer.

"I know something about Black that might help. I know that his mother has a hint of information of what happened to him. You must go to her. She is the only person I know who knows what happened to him. She lives far away from here, in a city called Tsudnwot, please visit her, I know she will help you."

"Thank you," Remus said.

He walked out the door into the outside world. The sun was setting, and it was a beautiful sight, but Remus did not notice. His mind was racing hard. She had said that Sirius's mother knew something… but he wasn't sure if he would be _welcome_ to his mother…

* * *

SHOUTOUTS:

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: Aisling gets excited over many things, and when she does she talks a mile a minute, driving everyone crazy!

IamSiriusgrl: Yes, it's because Aisling is older, at fourteen, therefore, more mature, but still the same bubbly girl!

GMUXMenSoaps: Yup. That was my plan. I won't answer the question about where Sirius is, or I'll spoil the whole plot point. Keep reading!

dweem-angel: I'm sure you're all wondering what happened to Sirius! But I won't say! Hehe, it's all in my little imagination. Aisling rox! Remus is so confused, and he's going to be more confused, because it's a confusing world. Don't worry, you'll see more of James and Lily soon!

Sirius-Black-Sfan: Aisling WAS based on a hyperactive friend.

RonniekinzLuvr: Thank you! Thank you! I'd really like to improve my writing style, because I use too much dialogue, but thanks for the compliments anywhoo!

Erin: Don't you update? I thought you did. I won't say howRemus gets out.You think and you read, and you'll find out how!


	9. Aisling's Knowledge

Another World

By Moony

I don't own any characters from Harry Potter, whom are all owned by the genius J.K. Rowling who is killing me with torture at the fact that there are currently only five days left.

Chapter 9

Remus had not barely moved a few steps away from the cottage, before he heard loud footsteps and banging approaching behind him. He turned around to face Aisling, her hair a mess.

"I forgot, you don't know how to get back to the place," she said.

Remus realized he didn't.

"Oh. I forgot too," he replied.

But he would have rather walked around looking for it and ask someone else than be bugged by Aisling, when he wanted to think hard. It was extremely hard to think when someone was constantly babbling nonsense.

"You have to lerrn your way around here. I can get you a map. Although maps aren't really helpful when you don't know where anything is, so I have to think about that. Uh… we can get you a locating device and locate your house, but I don't have enough money for that. So… I guess I can just show you around until you get used to things. I only have a week though. That's the limit for an angel. Then I have another assignment. Another angel to show around the place. So you better learn how to get around quick. But if you don't, you know, you can ask other people. They've been here for _years_ and they don't even need to think about which routes to take – they could close their eyes and still end up at their place. Don't worry, I'm sure after you stay here a long while you should be just like that. Besides, it's really hard to get lost here, because there's people inhabiting like almost every place. So you could always ask, and usually they always know so everything is very convenient and safe. In fact, the only place that I know of that isn't that inhabited is Tsudnwot. It's all covered in dust and only a few people live there, it's very isolated. Those people have their own little marketplace and school and stuff, and they're really weird. They're not normal at all. Some people say they're outcasts from Hell, but not completely accepted in the Spirit World. I don't think so. I mean, weird people are always going to exist, right?"

Remus really wanted to scream right now. Did Aisling EVER shut up? He wanted to stuff his ears and hum and yell 'blah blah blah'. He hadn't endured endless talking for a long time now. In fact, he couldn't remember when he ever had met people like Aisling. She was a hyperactive little girl. Remus shook his head. He couldn't imagine her at Hogwarts – oh the torture of the teachers!

"So basically Tsudnwot's just a weird place, I've never been there, but I really want to meet them and stuff," Aisling paused for a breath.

Remus debated with himself whether to ask. For one thing, it could spur a talking spree. But another thing was, the talking spree could get him important information, and make his assignment faster. Then again, it could be full of useless information. But she was going to give him useless information anyway, so why not just ask and have a chance of getting important information? How confusing.

"Aisling, tell me about that place… Tsudnwot."

"A lot of weird people," she said impatiently. "I've already explained that. They used to be mean, but a few days after my wing assignment, they turned nice, just nice, but still weird. They have their own little government thing. The leader is uh… oh… what was it – Rachael Black I think. She used to be really evil I heard. She has a son named Re-Regulus. Yeah. I think her son went missing a long time ago, and they were searching for a long time, but he never got found. Of course, that's a really weird case, because children like never get lost here. Unless some kindly woman tried to take him in or something. There's really nothing dangerous here that could kidnap you, unlike the Living."

Remus tuned out. He had gotten some information. He was pretty sure Sirius's mother's name was Rachael. And pretty sure his brother's name was Regulus. So what did that mean, that Regulus was missing? Had something happened? And did it have to do with anything with Sirius?

"This Regulus, when did he disappear?"

"After I got back from my wing assignment, I think. I heard he was a little brat, but he was really secretive. Some big secret about Chan's destruction, but he wasn't telling anyone for some odd reason. _Sounds_ like a brat, I mean, Chan was like the head angel, how can he not tell anyone what happened? I'm surprised he wasn't in like quarantine or something. Well actually I think he was supposed to be, before he disappeared. Some people say he ran away so he wouldn't have to face questioning. They also say he became a bit lunatic after the destruction."

Now _this_ was something important that he wanted to hear.

"But it's really odd Remus, because all this weird stuff started happening after I earned my wings. Was my assignment weird? I wonder about it all the time, and I wish I could _remember _it. Strange stuff's been happening all over the Spirit World, strange stuff that never happened before. Does it have to do with me? Did I do something wrong? I wish our memories weren't wiped."

Remus's mind was spinning fast. Could Aisling's 'wing assignment' have something to do with Sirius? And was Sirius's disappearance, effecting the Spirit World? Was it related to Regulus's disappearance, as well as Chan's destruction?

"Aisling, what are the chances of a spirit being destroyed?" Remus asked.

He needed clues, he needed to figure this whole mess out. What the _hell_ was going ON? He had to put the puzzle pieces together, because if he didn't, he would be partly responsible for the whole terror that the Living would experience because Sirius wasn't there. And already many years had passed in the Living. How long did he have to get Sirius back before the Earth was 'doomed'?

"As much chance as being struck dead by a gigantic asteroid when you're living. Very very few have been destroyed, that's why Chan's destruction was all over the news. Especially head angels, they have a chance of being destroyed that's like… one in a googol! That's ten to the hundreth power (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) by the way. And it's still a mystery that everyone's trying to figure out, and that Regulus guy knows something, but he won't say, so it's driving us all crazy! Oh, here we are," Aisling said, as they arrived in front of the apartment. "I'll just leave you here, since I have to hurry back to Auntie. I'll see you tomorrow, Remus!"

"Bye!"

He hurried into the elevator and up the floors, then wrenched open his apartment door and almost ran to the couch to sit down and think hard.

Aisling had given him a wealth of information. He would need to thank her later. But he needed to think things over, if he wanted to complete the assignment as fast as possible. There was so much _mystery_ surrounding Sirius. Where the _hell_ was he? He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write down the things he _knew_ so far. He always liked to keep organized.

Things I Know:

1. Regulus disappeared shortly after Aisling's 'wing assignment'.

2. Rachael Black (Sirius's mother) is the leader of a town called Tsudnwot, she became nicer after Aisling's 'wing assignment'.

3. Chan (head angel) was destroyed shortly after Aisling's 'wing assignment'.

4. Regulus Black knew something about Chan's destruction.

5. Regulus disappeared before he became questioned.

6. Regulus became sort of a lunatic after Aisling's 'wing assignment'.

Things I Need to Find Out:

1. Where the hell Sirius is.

2. Why James seems to think Sirius is alive.

3. The cause of Chan's destruction.

4. What Regulus knows.

5. Where Regulus is.

6. Why Rachael Black became nice.

He stopped and looked at his list, sucking on his quill. What he knew wasn't enough to solve half of the questions on what he needed to find out. When he had agreed to this assignment, he had thought that he would just go, get Sirius, come back. He never thought that Sirius wouldn't be here, that there would be a myraid of mysteries, and that they perhaps were related – or not – to Sirius's disappearance. This was by far, the most confusing assignment he had ever agreed to.

Remus put the quill down and sat back. Suddenly, something sharp poked him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the shards of Sirius's Two-Way Mirror that he gave to Harry. He laid them on the coffee table, intending to fix it later. Then he felt another package in his pocket.

He pulled out the other mirror that Tonks had given him. There was a note, folded neatly. Remus had promised not the read it, and so he left it as it was. He honored everyone's promises. He was a very trustworthy person anyway, and Tonks was a good friend.

He thought me might shower off and then go to sleep, but the phone rang. Wondering who else knew his phone number but Aisling, he dreaded picking it up and hearing Aisling's chatterboxy voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi Moony, it's James."

"Oh! Hi."

"I was wondering, can me and Lily come over for a bit?"

"Lily and I. Sure."

"You're still correctional huh? Ok, cool. We're apparating, so be expecting us in a few seconds."

He hung up.

Perfect, Remus could talk to James too. James ought to know some things. He could help him in fact, locate Sirius and figure out all these mysteries. Maybe he could even come visit Sirius's mother with him, after all, he was pretty sure he needed someone with him in that place. James, Peter, and him had never really been welcome to Sirius's house, and it was because of his mother. Another thing was, he knew of the portrait in Grimmauld Place, and well, that portrait hadn't made him exactly feel welcome. From that portrait, he had quite an idea of what Sirius's mother thought of 'half-breeds' and 'half-bloods'. It would be good to have a 'pure-blood'.

Lost in his thoughts, Remus was startled when he heard a loud crack. The next moment, James and Lily were standing at the door.

"They picked a good place for you," James said, looking around.

Remus jumped up.

"Yeah, come on, sit down. I'll go get some tea."

He wasn't even sure there was tea here, but he would look around for something. He didn't find tea bags, but tea _leaves_. He shrugged it off. Tea with tea leaves was usually better anyway. Quickly he seeped the leaves into hot water and brought them out into the living room.

It was quite awkward. James looked like a complete stranger now. So did Lily. He didn't know what to _say_. It had been almost seventeen years now. He had quite forgotten anything the older James looked like, and all he remembered was the idiot that he had been as a schoolboy. But he was sure James wasn't _still_ that idiot.

"Moony, I didn't properly say hi. But I don't have a proper way to say hi, but I hope this is better than asking what the hell you are doing here."

"Remus! It's so good to see you!" Lily said, giving him a hug. "Well not really. I mean, actually, you're not supposed to be dead, but it is good to see you."

"So, what'd you do? I called you earlier and you weren't home. Was Aisling torturing you or something?"

"No, she said her aunt was having dinner with the Council, and I wanted to ask them a few things and you wouldn't believe everything I heard from them! I asked about Siruis and stuff and…"

He launched into the story.

"Then on the way back, I asked Aisling things too, and she gave me some information, here look," he said, handing James the list.

James and Lily looked at the list for awhile, then put it down thoughtfully.

"That _is_ odd. It seems that everything happened after Aisling's wing assignment. But what _was_ Aisling's wing assignment? I can't remember," James said.

"I think the assignment is the key to everything. I think her assignment had something to do with Sirius."

James nodded.

"Are you really going to visit Sirius's mother?" Lily asked.

"I suppose I have to, I need all the information I can get – though I really have some premonitions about that mother."

"You shouldn't. She's been really nice lately. She called me a few times, and I almost fainted because she was so nice to me, when we were younger she called me that 'strange Potter boy'. But now she acts like I'm a friend or something. It's really odd," James said.

"But look, there's a portrait in Grimmauld Place, which is the Order headquarters now, on Sirus's mother. That portrait's always calling me a dirty scum of a half-breed. You're pureblood it's different I'm sure."

"Nope, she's been treating even Muggles nicely these days. It's very very odd. And again, this is after Aisling's wing assignment," Lily said. "She's nice even to me!"

"I think the fastest way to do this whole thing is to figure out what the heck Aisling's wing assignment was."

"That's impossible, Aisling's wing assignment was wiped from memory. All the records of all angel wing assignments were all recordered in Chan's head, and he's been destroyed," Lily said.

"Well, we'll have to get it by other means."

"Like what?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Like the fact that we're going to visit Sirius's mother tomorrow."

* * *

ShOrTnSwEeT9013: Yes, a bit confusing, but I hope it was interesting.

RonnieikinzLuvr: Well, I just think I have too much, but I'm working on it. And you will eventually find out all you ever need to know about Sirius and the Council.

Donatella: Yay! I won't tell you whether Remus gets out. /evil smile/

IamSiriusgrl: Really? 17? I always thought it was 16. I'll check the books some other time. I don't know how long it'll take Aisling /evil smile, maybe never? Heh heh. You'll just have to read on!

Sirius-Black-Sfan: Yes, mystery. What I love aiming for. Of course the story continues! I don't know how James is still sane either.

GMUXMenSoaps: Yay! Intriguing! I like that compliment! Here's more!

**Thanks for the awesome reviews guys! You all motivate me to write/hands cookies to reviewers/ **


	10. Traveling and Dreams

Another World

By Moony

I do not own anything that JKR has created.

Ah, after reading Half-Blood Prince, I'm afraid that this little fic is written so awfully compared to it. Jo makes me jealous. –Moony

Chapter 10

James blinked.

"Wow Moony, you're starting to sound like Sirius," he said, shaking his head. "Like the way he always got a gleam in his eye when he said 'other means'."

"Do you mean to say you're going to travel all the way to Tsudnwot? That's at least three angel days away, and I don't think the Spirit World Bus Service travels there," Lily said.

"I mean to say I am. And I hope you come with me?"

"Awesome! I've always wanted to go there, but I never found an excuse…" James said, and his eyes glared at Lily.

"Well it's a dangerous place! Very weird!" Lily protested.

"But we're really old spirits, I don't really think anyone in that town has the capability to destroy spirits," James moaned.

"You never know!"

James rolled his eyes.

"What say we come by tomorrow in the morning, and then get started for Tsudnwot?"

"Sure. But, how are we going to get there? Lily said the bus service thingy doesn't work…"

"That doesn't mean we can't take the bus to the closest station to it," James said. "I think you're going a little less sharp than you were a lot of years ago. C'mon Moony, I was never smarter than you…"

"Must be old age. I say there's a bit more stress down in the Living then up here you know," Remus replied, smiling.

"Oh right. There you go. Outsmarted me again. Anyhow, me and Lils better be going. See you tomorrow!"

"It was really cool to see you again, Remus," Lily nodded.

Then with two cracks, they were gone.

Remus stared for a while at where they disappeared, then got up to take a shower and go to bed. Then he noticed the broken mirror, and the parcel Tonks had given. He didn't know why those shards and that parcel _bothered_ him so much. He stared at them for a while, trying to reason with himself, but that plunging feeling in his gut just wouldn't leave him alone. There was something _weird_ about that mirror. Shaking his head, he scooped up the shards in his hand, and went to look for a bag to put it in. He opened one drawer, and found a small velvet maroon bag and loosened the drawstring and poured the jagged shards in. Just as he was about to tighten the string again he noticed that the shards seemed to be _glowing_? His heart thumped quickly as he pulled the loose the drawstring with force. They were just normal shards. Remus shook his head as he tightened the string again. He must have just been tired and was imagining things. He picked the parcel by the coffee table up and then headed into the bedroom.

It was a nice room, a full-sized bed, a large window with a view of a river, and white curtains, also a good sized desk and night-table and a dresser. It was certainly more homely and cozy than his flat had ever been. He dropped the shards and the parcel onto the table and realized he hadn't any clothes or pajamas. That was a problem. Maybe they've provided some? Remus thought. He pulled out one of the drawers of the dresser. Sure enough, there were three clean, simple black robes and a set of pajamas. There were also socks, and a set of every simple every day clothing needed. Remus looked at the clothes. They were _brand new!_ It was a good change to the shabby robes he had been wearing for years. He had never owned so many new clothes. He took out one of the robes gingerly, he was afraid to ruin it. It was so just so new. So starchy, so stiff, so clean. He then picked out the pajamas, which were made of flannel. How wonderful. So heaven was what it was cracked up to be.

Just as Remus had lifted the pajamas, he noticed a small bag, similar to the maroon one he had dropped the mirror shards in, but a bit larger. Carefully laying the pajamas and robes on his bed, he picked up the bag. It was a bit heavy, and when he shook out, he heard a merry jingling. He loosened the drawstring and emptied its contents on the top of the dresser. It was a bunch of galleons, sickles, and knuts. Remus gazed happily at this pile of money. He hadn't really remembered having so much money since Hogwarts. There was also a small bit of parchment.

_Dear Remus,_

_Since you were my assignment, I thought I might be nice. A lot of new spirits that come here have to make their money with jobs and whatnot, before they can actually get clothes and such. Well, knowing how it was for me, I decided to buy you some. Just to be nice. I can't stand the thought of someone else bearing what I had went through. (Same clothes for a week! The horror!) So I bought you some. And some money, just to get around the first few days, you know? Before you can find a job. Also, I'd very much appreciate if you could uh – mention my helpfulness to you to the Council? _

_-Aisling_

Remus smiled. Thought Aisling was very annoying, she did seem to be quite nice. New robes! How wonderful! And money too! Then with another happy thought, he realized that he could get a job here without any problems. After all, he didn't quite seem to think he had to transform _here_! There weren't even Anti-Werewolf Legislation laws. For a moment, he was so happy that he forgot what he was doing here in the first place.

Then he turned his head and saw the parcel, and the bag with the mirror shards. And his heart sunk. What were they thinking down in the Living? It had been nearly nine hours since had come, that was 540 minutes. And in Living time, 108 years – _WHAT_? Then had he failed already? Harry couldn't possibly have lived for more than one hundred years. The happy feeling over new clothes and money vanished, and he forgot about showering. He closed his eyes and tried to think of Aisling's home again. Her aunt was in the Council, she could help.

After opening his eyes, he saw the small cottage of the home. He knocked urgently on the door.

"Who would be here at night?" he heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door, as Maria Poroir opened the door.

"Oh hello Mr. Lupin! Did you forget something?" she said in a friendly manner.

"No – no. I have something urgent to tell you."

Her face turned hard for a moment, then she smiled nervously.

"Well come in then."

He walked behind her into a living room and sat down on one of the couches.

"When you say urgent, it has nothing to do with Sirius Black… or your assignment, does it?" she asked..

"Sort of, in a way. I won't ask you to help me look for him or anything, but I must know something," Remus gasped.

Maria stared for a moment, then nodded. "Carry on."

"Aisling informed me that Living Time is very slow compared to Spirit Time. She said that five minutes in Spirit Time is equivlaent to one year in Living Time. But… how can Aisling still be fourteen if in Spirit Time, it is so fast? And… 108 years have passed alone today in the Living, which means that – the world might already be doomed…" Remus's voice shook a bit.

"Oh don't worry! It's all right! The time was changed to Living Time _hours_ ago! And honestly, we don't keep Spirit Time _all _the time. We change, for the many spirits who are entering our world get very confused. So it's all right. I'm sure only about… six years have passed in the Living."

Six years! That was still quite too much, though better than one hundred eight, he supposed _Six_. Harry would be twenty-three now, probably seeing Ginny. They probably all thought he wasn't coming back now. And perhaps he never would. But he would try as hard as he could to bring Sirius back. Had Harry confronted Voldemort yet? Or was that possible, because he hadn't brought Sirius back yet?

"Is that all you need to know?" Maria asked suspiciously.

"No. No, that's all, thank you!" Remus said, nodding, then stood up.

"You're quite welcome."

As Remus turned to leave, Maria stopped him for a moment.

"You still remember my advice from earlier?" she said, in a hushed whisper.

"Yes."

"Good. It is the most helpful information I can give you," she said, nodding.

"I thank you for that."

And Remus exited out the door, and squeezed his eyes shut as he thought of his apartment.

As he arrived, he sighed. He felt too lazy and tired to shower. _I'll take a shower in the morning_, he thought, as he changed into his new flannel pajamas. They were very comfortable.

_Being dead has benefits_, he thought, and slowly drifted into sleep.

ooooooooo

"Wake up!" a voice called cheerfully.

"Wha?" Remus asked groggily.

"Wake up, we have to catch the bus."

Remus sat up, as James' figure came into view.

"This early? What time is it?"

"Five am. The bus comes at six."

"Doesn't it come at a later time? I'm so tired…"

"Nope. One time only, that's six am."

Remus rolled his eyes and climbed out of the bed.

"Nice pajamas. How'd you get them?"

Remus explained about Aisling and the note and the money.

"Wow! She never buys me stuff! And she has a crush on me!"

"But she's _fourteen_! You're… like thirty-three!"

"You should know that Aisling isn't stopped by anything."

"And you're with Lily."

"You haven't known Aisling long enough."

Remus rolled his eyes and grabbed a set of robes, and headed into the bathroom for a shower. The bathroom was certainly just as cozy as the bedroom. Everything was clean and sparkling white. Remus had never been in such luxury. And the water was _hot_. Definitely better than the cold showers he had had to endure in the Living. He stepped out, clean, in new robes, and feeling wonderful for the first time.

"What time is now?" he asked.

"Five thirty. Get some breakfast. Then we'll go," James said, nodding.

As they walked out, he smelled a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.

"Is that pancakes I smell?"

"Yeah, Lily's doing it."

Remus smiled, as he headed into the kitchen.

"Have a stack!" Lily said, waving her hand to the stack of pancakes on a place.

After a breakfast, they headed to the bus station.

"How come we don't apparate?" Remus asked.

"Can't," James shrugged.

"Why?"

"Crazy Muggles get jealous, so there's all these public places where you're not allowed to apparate. A load of crock if you ask me. But you know, crazy people out there…"

At last they arrived a dingy looking street. It was very deserted and eerie, and there were only a few people walking about. Strange people too. Dressed in ragged, dirty clothes and not appearing to see where they where going. And it was extraordinarily quiet, compared to where they had come from. It was the kind of quiet that made you nervous, and that was just how Remus felt. Almost distrusting of the whole place. He shivered and continued to follow James, then stopped at a corner that lookd thoroughly neglected. The flowers were wilting and shriveled, and the wooden bench's wood was splitting and rotting; splinters were sticking up in all places, and green mold was growing on it. It also seemed to be eaten by some termites. There was a rickety, dilapidated sign over the bench. The pole under the sign was nearly split in half, and the sign itself was hanging dangerously from the pole. The words and picture on the sign was illegible. Remus stared at it for a while, trying hard to decipher the words through the smeared dirt and graffiti all over it.

"It used to say bus stop," James said, noting Remus's squinted eyes.

"I hate coming here, it gives me the creeps," Lily said, shivering like Remus.

"Not too many people use the bus, do they?" Remus asked.

"No. Not at all. What's the point? I mean, wizards can apparate, and Muggles have those weird… car things."

The silence was suddenly broken by a loud whistling and bright headlights. Many of the oddly dressed people looked up, and glared angrily at the thing that was coming to the stop. As it got closer, Remus realized it was a bus. But the bus was just as rickety as the whole bus stop itself. It was impossible to see through any of the windows except for the front, because of all the dirt smeared over it. It also seemed that parts of it were falling off, as weel as it being covered in dust, dirt, and mismatched colors of paint.

The doors of the bus opened, and it revealed an odd looking bus driver. His hair was wild looking, even more wild than James' hair could have ever achieved. It was so dirty that it was impossible to ever tell what color the hair had been before. The driver's face was covered in soot and mud, and his smile revealed teeth that were rotted and chipped. He stunk too.

"How long will we be on this bus?" he asked James as they looked for the cleanest seat they could find (most of them were covered in something peculiarly similar to vomit).

"About twelve hours," Lily said. She was holding her nose. The bus smelled awful.

"_Scourigfy!" _James said, pointing at a row of seats.

"Why don't you just do that to the entire bus?" Remus asked, trying hard not to breathe through his nose.

"It doesn't work. Or this bus would be pretty clean. I think it only works on this row."

Remus decided to try anyway. Aiming his wand at the windows, he also said, "_Scourigfy!_"

For a moment, it seemed that the windows were clear. But then the mud and dirt slowly moved its way over the windows, so that it looked as if nothing had happened.

"I hate traveling by bus!" Lily said, as the bus bounced up and down and shook and turned and swerved sharply.

Remus felt nauseous. The Knight Bus was mild compared to this. He wouldn't have been surprised if the bus ran someone over.

"I think I'll just rest my eyes…" he said.

"Good idea," Lily said. She was looking a bit green.

And again Remus drifted into sleep. He had an odd dream…

_Harry was thrusting the mirror shards in front of him._

"_Fix my mirror!" he yelled. _

_Remus reached into his pocket for his wand, but it wasn't there. "I can't! I don't have my wand!"_

"_FIX IT!"_

"_I can't!"_

"_FIX IT OR SIRIUS'LL NEVER COME BACK!"_

"_I can get Sirius back without it!"_

"_FIX MY MIRROR!" _

"_No… no…I can't."_

"_Fix my mirror or you're going to die!"_

_Harry threw the shards at him, and they were glowing a sinister green. They were almost laughing, as they pierced Remus's skin…_

"_Now you're going to die and Sirius'll never come back!" Harry yelled._

Remus woke with a jolt, panting. His hand immediately went to his pocket, and touched the velvet bag and the parcel. They weren't attacking him. No. To assure himself, he took the bag out and loosened the draw string.

_See, they're not attacking you. You can fix them later._ He thought.

And then, as he tightened the drawstring again, he saw them glowing. The same green glow in his dream, the same glow he had seen last night. But it was less sinister than the green in the dream. He let out a small gasp.

"Something wrong?" James asked, as he appeared from the front of the bus.

"No, no," Remus said, hastily tightening the string and stuffing it in his pocket. "How long has it been?"

"About three hours. I wish I brought something to do. It's so boring," Jame said, settling back into the chair.

"You think you can get to Tsudnwot fine? We won't get lost?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. It's not that hard."

"Ok. I think I'll just settle back into sleep," Remus said.

ooooooooo

Remus felt a gentle hand shaking him awake. He opened his eyes groggily. Night had fallen, and it was almost impossible to see in the bus.

"Where are we now?" he asked.

"We're at the last stop, Uilatan. C'mon, let's get off," Lily's voice said.

Remus scrambled to his feet, and fished his pocket for his wand and muttered, "_Lumos!_"

"That's better," Lily said.

The two of them walked down the aisle and out the door into the chilly night. James was there waiting.

"I thought you two might like to have more shut-eye, so I waited a bit," he said.

"Thanks," Remus muttered. It had been a wonderful sleep.

"We can't visit Mrs. Black now, can we? I mean, it's so dark! And you know, I don't think it'd be nice to just ring her doorbell so late."

"You're right. We should just stop at hotel," James said.

The threesome walked down a deserted sidewalk. Nobody was walking along it, and there were no lights at all. It looked as though no one had walked here for ages. The night air was very chilly, only adding to the creepiness of the street.

Finally they entered a city. Remus could see homes and buildlings that looked very rundown. There were no streetlights, and every buildings' windows were blocked out with tightly shut curtains and blinds.

"Is there even a hotel here?" Remus asked. He was beginning to doubt that there was a place for them to stay.

"I'm sure there is. I mean, tourists used to come here all the time – ah here!" James stopped in front of the most dilapidated (I like that word! –Moony) building he had ever seen.

Much more ugly than the bus they had ridden, and much more ugly than the bus stop. The paint was peeling, so it was an ugly color of puce. A sign that read – 'Hotel' was nearly falling off. Not only that, there were large cracks in the bricks that held it up. It also seemed to be wobbling, as if it were to collapse any second. The flowerbeds that might have once grown beautiful flowers had been conquered by weeds, and the lawn's grass was so high that it went up to Remus's knees. Not to mention worms crawling around the grass…

"James, I'm not sure this place is safe…" Remus said apprehensively.

"Don't worry! It'll just _hurt_ if it crumbles. We won't like _die_, since we've already died."

That was true. Remus relaxed a bit.

The inside of the hotel was much more cozy than the outside. Squashy chintz armchairs were placed in different various corners and places. Lamps gave soft warm glows, and there were magazines on coffeetables. Soothing music was also playing.

"Hello! Welcome to the Tsudnwot hotel! Sorry for the… rundown looking way its built, but we are getting a new facility next year! Our rooms, however, are the coziest you will find! How many?" a lady asked.

"How many people to one room?" James asked.

"Two."

"All right, we'll take two rooms."

"That'll be forty galleons!"

James handed the gold, and she handed them the keys and their room numbers.

"Me and Lily have 204, and you have 205," James said, handing Remus his key.

"Ok."

At last they reached their rooms, and Remus opened his door, bid James good night, and stepped in. He was so tired for some reason, and the bed looked so clean and fluffy, the sheets all crisp, the pillow all soft, that when he sank into bed, he immediately fell asleep. And yet he had another dream…

"_I fixed the mirror," Remus said, putting the mirror next to the mirror Tonks had given._

_Sirius suddenly appeared in front of him. _

"_We have to go back to the Living, Sirius," Remus said._

_Sirius nodded, then one of the mirrors fell to the floor and smashed. Sirius disappeared._

"_No! Sirius! Wait!" Remus yelled._

_He picked up the shards and tried to fix them. But when he tried, they just kept smashing, and smashing, and smashing… and then there were no more shards._

"_No!" _

_

* * *

_

SHOUTOUTS:

IamSiriusgrl: Is this chapter longer? Enough? Yes, I am trying to give lots of info and clues to help you think about all the mysteries.

PadfootGal: Thank you! I am dearly complimented!

Sirius-Black-Sfan: I wonder too! You just have to keep reading to see!

GMUXMenSoaps: Thanks! I can't wait for Sirius either!

Erin: Oh yeah, I write a lot on the plane. I dunno – what kind of cookie do you want/offers peanut butter, M 'n' Ms, sugar, chocolate chip, oatmeal, raisin/


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